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7,000 police personnel man Pune streets on New Year’s Eve
530 have been booked as of December 31 for drink driving in Pune police’s special New Year’s eve drive
A total of 7,000 police personnel from various departments have been deployed to man the streets on New Year’s eve to ensure smooth celebrations in the city, with traffic police acting against those involved in drink and drive.
The personnel were deployed in various parts of the city, including Fergusson college road, Jungli Maharaj road, Chandani chowk, Kharadi and other areas that witness a rush for celebrations. Among the police personnel, there were four Damini squads comprising women police constables. Besides police personnel, fire brigade too was on alert given the two-year-old tragedy at Mumbai’s Kamala mill where 14 people lost their lives in fire incident inside two restaurants.
Continuing with their action against drink and drive, Pune police squads deployed at various locations checked revellers with breath analysers to ascertain the alcohol consumption between 10 pm and 5 am. In a statement issued earlier on Tuesday, Pune police chief K Venkatesham said, “Vehicles of those found guilty in drink and drive will be confiscated on the spot. There are police in civil dress deployed at 130 places to conduct drink and drive tests. These tests will be video recorded.”
The police have already booked 530 persons in drink and drive cases during the special drive conducted since December 26, according to Sanjay Shinde, additional commissioner of police, traffic. The figure for drink and drive cases registered on Tuesday night will be available only by Wednesday.
Court cases under the relevant sections of the Motor Vehicle Act were registered against 535, according to the police. The traffic police officials are provided with breathalyser devices to confirm cases of drink driving.
“Areas like Mundhwa, Kondhwa, ABC Farms, Koregaon Park, Camp, Kothrud, Baner which attracts crowds will be monitored. Basically, for past three-four days, we have been visiting the managers and owners of establishments in these areas and informing them about dos and don’ts like getting private security, installation of closed circuit television cameras (CCTV), standees saying ‘no driving if you’re drunk’,” said Ravindra Shisave, joint commissioner of Pune police.
The other major concern for Pune police was haphazard parking and traffic congestion, according to the officer. The traffic police have been deployed to the task of ensuring these problems were avoided.
Noise pollution and drink driving rules will be adhered to strictly, according to Joint CP Shisave. Complaints regarding open spaces as well as house parties will lead to seizure of equipment by the police.
